Houston Magazine Taking Criticism Over Review Of LGBT Establishment

Houstonia Magazine Taking Criticism Over Review Of LGBT Establishment! Appears To Criticize LGBT Entertainers, More Than The Food!

HOUSTON — (MARCH 15) — A local Houston magazine is taking on some criticism of their own from the LGBTQ+ community after one of the publication’s journalist’s may have taken her job from Food Critic to Food & Entertainment Critic. Using poor choices for words and humor have ignited a storm within the LGBT community.

In a food review showcasing Houston’s Hamburger Mary’s, Houstonia magazine’s food critic Allice Leveitt appears to take aim at all things not related to food. Instead, the article titled ‘No Tea, No Shade at Hamburger Mary’s’ appears to directly criticize drag and gay entertainers with food a after thought. Was it a ‘smear’ piece or accidental oversight of humor taken out of context?

“This is a tragedy on the level of when A&E switched from being a cable version of PBS and started showing fare more along the lines of Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars.” – Allice Leveitt

In the March 12, 2017 article Levitt describes a Hispanic entertainer’s performance as “dead-eyed as a migrant stripper.” Rather than concentrate on ‘reviewing’ the food, the article is riddled with bullying-style verbiage that appears to be directed at the LGBT entertainers that performed. “These performances were neither artistic nor entertaining,” Levitt adds in addition to the comparison of Hamburger Mary’s to anti-LGBT ‘Duck Dynasty.’

Supporters in the LGBT community took to social media defending the Houston restaurant. “People who don’t understand drag shouldn’t write articles about a drag establishment,” one of the upset supporter writes. “Why are people so petty, bad enough we are losing montrose to everyone else. We should encourage each other rather than tear each other down,” another person wrote. Many posts were not suitable to re-publish.

Executive Editor for Houstonia magazine, Catherine Matusow sees it differently. “Our dining editor, a fan of both burgers and drag shows, didn’t have the Hamburger Mary’s experience she was hoping for,” Matusow explains in a statement released to About Magazine. “And perhaps her attempts at humor when describing that experience didn’t land with everyone quite the way she would have liked.”

“From its inception four years ago, Houstonia magazine has been a champion of LGBT rights,” Matusow says. “Not only is our founding editor a member of the LGBT community, our parent company was inspired to launch a wedding magazine serving that community, Love Wins Texas Weddings, last year.”

“Make no mistake: We at Houstonia are rooting for the place, and we’ll be back for another visit,” the executive editor said.